MICHAEL PRESTON, the editor of the Time and Tides Shenzhen, an internal magazine of Yantian International Container Terminals, has lived in Shenzhen for three years.

Now in his 50s, Michael came to Shenzhen after finding it was difficult to land a job for someone his age in his native New Zealand. However, he had never imagined he would find his true love here.

Michael majored in Information Systems and Asian Studies and one of his idols is Genghis Khan. When he met May, who comes from Mongolia, the birth place of Genghis Khan, his interest was sparked in the 34 year-old English teacher.

"I dreamt of marrying a foreigner when I was young. I fell in love with Michael because I appreciated his frankness. We can have a heart-to-heart talk freely," says May.

"We trust each other and make every effort to deal with the cultural gap," says Michael. Like many other foreigners, Michael likes to go to nightclubs to drink and dance. But May doesn't ask her husband to come home early. Michael says May trusts him totally and he always promises to be back by a reasonable time.

"We don't tell any lies in our life. We openly communicate with each other about what we feel and what we like. It is really a relaxed way to build up a Chinese-western marriage," says May.

May's family in Mongolia didn't accept Michael at first. May's parents are from a very small village and they had never imagined their daughter would marry foreigner. However, Michael's kindness and sense of responsibility moved them in the end. "We still have a cultural gap, but they tend to be small things, for example, I find it difficult to accept bad "table manners" and hate being "talked over". But little by little we learn to forgive each other," says Michael.

Editor: Wing